The Two-Way

5:08 pm

Fri August 29, 2014

Chinese High-Rise Worker Left Dangling After Annoyed Boy Cuts Rope

A worker in southern China was left hanging from 100 feet up the side of a high-rise apartment building when a 10-year-old boy, apparently annoyed at the construction racket outside his window, decided to cut the safety line on the man's rappelling apparatus.

Xinhua says the boy was watching cartoons in his eighth-floor apartment in Guizhou province as the worker was outside installing lighting. So, the boy took a knife and sliced through the rope that allows the worker to move up and down.

According to an English translation of the Xinhua article on the Shanghaiist website, the worker was left dangling midair. He yelled down to a co-worker, who called firemen; he was rescued about 40 minutes later. You can view photos here.

Xinhua quotes the worker, surnamed Liu, as saying:

" 'When I was using the electric drill, I felt my lower rope shaking. Then I saw the boy cutting the rope with a knife.'

" 'I shouted at him to stop but he didn't listen and soon after, the rope was broken. That's when I called to my workmate for help,' Liu said."

Shanghaiist says that after speaking with police, "the boy finally admitted to what he did":

"His father, surnamed Tang, was called to come back home from work. He gave Liu a sincere apology on behalf of his son and compensated him with ... a new safety rope."